Kolkata: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were playing at their home ground Eden Gardens in the IPL 2025 opener on Saturday night. But almost the entire stadium was rooting for Virat Kohli, who guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a convincing 7-wicket win with an unbeaten 59 off 36 balls.
The adulation for ‘King Kohli’ wasn’t confined to cheers and clapping and chanting from the galleries. One overzealous fan even managed to give securitypersons the slip, sprinted to the middle of the ground, embraced Kohli and touched his feet as well.
The youngster had his moment under the floodlights before he was ‘captured’ and whisked away.
But the Kohli fan had to pay the price for his brave act, and has been arrested by Kolkata Police.
According to reports, he has been held under section 329 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which came into effect from July 2024.
A video clip of the man scaling the fence at Eden Gardens and running to the ground went viral.
This fan managed to get inside the stadium in Kolkata to meet Virat Kohli last night. He has been arrested now. This is really sad 🇮🇳💔💔 #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/kbakVbNCnt
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) March 23, 2025
The young man, who had come to watch the game from Bardhaman town, said he wanted to touch Kohli as he idolised the Indian cricket star.
“Virat is my God. I am ready to face anything for him,” the man told media as he was taken away in a police van.
Section 329 covers criminal trespass — entering property to commit an offence. The punishment can be up to 3 months in jail or Rs 5,000 fine.
It’s a standard response to unauthorized field entry, though the new BNS framework might confuse some fans.
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